The Lithuania–Poland border is the state border between the

Republic of Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

and the

Republic of Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. The length of the border is .. Page gives Polish PWN Encyklopedia as reference. It runs from the Lithuania–Poland–Russia

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

southeast to the Belarus–Lithuania–Poland tripoint. It is an internal border of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and the

Schengen Zone The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...

. It is the only land border that one of the

Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

(which are members of the EU and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

) shares with a country that is not a member of the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

History

In medieval times, the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

and the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

had a vast and often changing border.Stephen R. Burant and Voytek Zubek, ''Eastern Europe's Old Memories and New Realities: Resurrecting the Polish–Lithuanian Union'', East European Politics and Societies 1993; 7; 370
online
/ref> From the

Union of Lublin The Union of Lublin (; ) was signed on 1 July 1569 in Lublin, Poland, and created a single state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest countries in Europe at the time. It replaced the personal union of the Crown of the Kingd ...

(1569) to the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

, there was no Polish-Lithuanian border, as both countries were a part of a single federated entity, the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. During the

partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

era, there were borders between the

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

(

Augustów Voivodeship Augustów Voivodeship was created in 1816 from the Łomża Department. Its capital was in Łomża until 1818, when it was transferred to Suwałki. In 1837 it was transformed into Augustów Governorate. Administrative divisions It was divided into ...

) and territory seized by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(

Kovno Governorate Kovno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Kovno (Kaunas). It was formed on 18 December 1842 by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, Nicholas I from the western part of Vilna Govern ...

and

Vilna Governorate The Vilna Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire. In 1897, the governorate covered an area of and had a population of 1,591,207 inhabitants. The governorate was defined by the Minsk Governo ...

). A different border existed between the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

and Lithuania in the period of 1918–1939. Following the

Polish–Lithuanian War The Polish–Lithuanian War was an undeclared war fought in the aftermath of World War I between newly independent Lithuania and Poland, with fighting mainly in the Vilnius and Suwałki regions, which was part of the Lithuanian Wars of Independe ...

, from 1922 onward it was stable and had a length of 521 km. tp://mapy.ziomal.org/mapy/mapy_inne/atlasy/1928_Romer%20-%20Atlas%20Polski%20wspolczesnej,/02.Okladka_przod_b.jpg ''Polska w cyfrach'' n: tp://mapy.ziomal.org/mapy/mapy_inne/atlasy/1928_Romer%20-%20Atlas%20Polski%20wspolczesnej,/ E. Romer ''Atlas Polski współczesnej'', 1928

Suwałki Agreement The Suwałki Agreement, Treaty of Suvalkai, or Suwalki Treaty (, ) was an agreement signed in the town of Suwałki between Poland and Lithuania on October 7, 1920. It was registered in the '' League of Nations Treaty Series'' on January 19, 192 ...

(1920) established the

demarcation line {{Refimprove, date=January 2008 A political demarcation line is a geopolitical border, often agreed upon as part of an armistice or ceasefire. Africa * Moroccan Wall, delimiting the Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara from the Sahraw ...

through the

Suwałki Region Suwałki Region ( ; ) is a historical region around the city of Suwałki in northeastern Poland near the border with Lithuania. It encompasses the powiats of Augustów, Suwałki, and Sejny, and roughly corresponds to the southern part of the for ...

and for the most part it remains the border between Poland and Lithuania in modern times. The current border was established in the

aftermath of World War II The aftermath of World War II saw the rise of two global superpowers, the United States (U.S.) and the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.). The aftermath of World War II was also defined by the rising threat of nuclear warfare, the creation and implementati ...

. In the

Suwałki County __NOTOC__ Suwałki County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Podlaskie Voivodeship, north-eastern Poland, on the Lithuanian border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local gov ...

the settlement of Mejszeszki, located north-west of the town of Wiżajny, was incorporated into Poland. To the north-east of Wiżajny, near the village of Laskowskie, the Lithuanian settlement of Auksztokalnia reached Poland. The border ran the same as in 1939. The area of the commune was inhabited by

Lithuanian people Lithuanians () are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another two million make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Americans, United Sta ...

. In the Kadaryszki commune, Poland was allocated 4 hectares of land, and changes to the border zone were minimal. Then the border ran through the Zaboryszki commune. In its area, in the town of Trampole, one farm was transferred to Poland. In the Serwy commune, near the village of Wołyńce, 3 pieces of land with an area of 0.5 ha were transferred from Poland to Lithuania. On Gaładuś Lake an island left Poland, in the Giby Commune the following settlements handed over from Poland to the Lithuanian SSR: Kalety, Studzianka, Kodzie, Wolka Rzędowa, Rynkowie, Dąbrowka, Czortek. The border was demarcated without considering elementary economic principles. It resulted in the separation of most agricultural land from habitats and, in some cases, divided habitats. It was planned to create a

security belt The Security Belt Forces (Arabic: قوات الحزام الأمني) is a paramilitary force based in Southern Yemen that forms the elite military wing of the Southern Transitional Council. The force operates in the governorates of Aden, Lahij a ...

within a radius of 20 km from the border, from which all national minorities would be removed and repopulated with repatriates. This was intended to prevent the Belarusian population from crossing the border illegally. A similar conclusion was made in the

Sokółka County __NOTOC__ Sokółka County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Podlaskie Voivodeship, north-eastern Poland, on the border with Belarus. It was created on 1 January 1999 as a result of the Polish local govern ...

. In

Augustów County __NOTOC__ Augustów County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Podlaskie Voivodeship, north-eastern Poland, on the border with Belarus. It came into being on 1 January 1999 as a result of the Polish local gov ...

, the population supported border changes. In

, the District Plenipotentiary for delimitation stated that Lithuanians living in the areas which were annexed to Poland were hostile to the authorities and should be removed abroad. In August 1948, the

TASS The Russian News Agency TASS, or simply TASS, is a Russian state-owned news agency founded in 1904. It is the largest Russian news agency and one of the largest news agencies worldwide. TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterpri ...

agency announced a communication on the completion of delimitation of the border. However, the local authorities determined the final shape of the border and belonging of individual villages or their fragments for more than a year and a half. The border since runs along the Marycha River and the current Polish-Lithuanian border, from the point on Marycha, 2 kilometers below the site, to the point where the territories of the Polish and

Lithuanian SSR The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; ; ), also known as Soviet Lithuania or simply Lithuania, was '' de facto'' one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990. After 1946, its terr ...

and the area of former

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

near the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

of Gromadczyzna meet (54.36081715,22.79983067), over a distance of approximately 102 kilometers from a deviation from the previously mentioned border at the village of Graużyny to the north and at the town of Misiszki to the south and a few minor straightening (border posts no. 1789 to 1987), leaving on the Polish side the following settlements: Pozasko, Budwiec, Markiszki, Hołyny, Rachelany, Burbiszki, Borysówka,

Poluńce Poluńce (; ) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Puńsk, within Sejny County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, close to the border with Lithuania. It lies approximately east of Puńsk, north of Sejny, and north o ...

, Berżniki, Wołyńce, Krejwiany, Trompoliszki, Wojciuliszki, Jegliniec, Budzisko, Majdan, Kopowo, Smolnica, Poszeszupie, Butowszczyzna, Krejwiany, Ejszeryszki, Wilkupie, Olszanka Stakuny, Burniszki, Grzybina and Gromadczyna and an island on Lake Gałdauś. The following settlements remained on the Lithuanian (then part of the Soviet Union) side: Helenowo, Ustronie, Podbuwieć, Subacze, Kuciony, Okmiany, Kalwiszki, Tarnówka, Barwisze, Uździenniki, Gralińce, Bielańce, Kibarty, Polance, Buraki, Olkszniany, Giłujsze, Trompole, Zegaryszki, Grungliszki, Durpiej, Czarna Buda, Wołkowizna, Kamionka, Rykosieje, Lubowo, Nowosady, Barwisze, Wartele, Auksztokalne, Ogliniszki, Poszyrwinty, Misiszki and Okszyszki and two islands on Lake Gaładuś. The border crossed the settlement of Graużyny and a number of lakes, in particular Lake Walenicze, Gaładuś, Graużyny (54.3916637 22.9444432) Durajewo and Olgiel up to the tri-point border between Poland, Lithuania and Russia (

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast () is the westernmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of the Russian Federation. It is a Enclave and exclave, semi-exclave on the Baltic Sea within the Baltic region of Prussia (region), Prussia, surrounded by Pola ...

) at 54.3633455, 22.79200182. The border has since remained identical during the Soviet

occupation of the Baltic states The occupation of the Baltic states was a period of annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union from 1940 until its Dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution in 1991. For a period of several years during World War II, Naz ...

as well as after the restoration of the independence of Lithuania on 11 March 1990. On 5 March 1996, both countries signed a treaty on the common border, confirming its status and demarcation, as well as agreeing on the technical cooperation. Lithuania and Poland joined the

Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...

in 2007. This meant that all border checkpoints were removed along the border in December 2007, allowing unrestricted border crossing. On 26 February 2023 Lithuanian customs reinstated third party cargo check points at the Lithuania–Poland border, due increased cargo freight from non-EU countries via Poland and Lithuania to

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

Military significance

To the military planners of NATO, the border area is known as the

Suwałki Gap The Suwałki Gap, also known as the Suwałki corridor (), is a sparsely populated area around the border between Lithuania and Poland, and centres on the shortest path between Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast on the Po ...

(named after the nearby town of

Suwałki Suwałki (; ; or סוּוואַלק) is a city in northeastern Poland with a population of 69,206 (2021). It is the capital of Suwałki County and one of the most important centers of commerce in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. A relatively young ci ...

) because it represents a military difficulty. It is a flat narrow piece of land, a gap, that is between

and Russia's

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

exclave and that connects the three NATO-member

Baltic States The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

to Poland and the rest of

. In the event of a Russian attack, the Suwałki Gap would for Russia be important both for connecting Kaliningrad to the rest of Russia, and to prevent military assistance from the other NATO countries to reach the Baltic countries. In July 2016, two years after the

annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation In February and March 2014, Russia invaded the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine, and then annexed it. This took place in the relative power vacuum immediately following the Revolution of Dignity. It marked the beginning of the Russ ...

and the beginning of the

War in Donbas The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

, NATO's member states agreed at the

2016 Warsaw summit The 2016 Warsaw Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was the 26th formal summit of the heads of state and heads of government of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, held at the National Stadium, Warsaw, National Stadium i ...

to what would become known as the

NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) is a NATO-allied forward-deployed defense and deterrence military force in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. This posture in Northern Europe through Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and in Central Europe through ...

. A July 2017 NATO exercise was for the first time focused on defense of the gap from a possible

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n attack, and used troops and

materiel Materiel or matériel (; ) is supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commerce, commercial supply chain management, supply chain context. Military In a military context, ...

from US, British, Polish, Lithuanian and Croatian sources. In September 2017, Russia and

produced the Zapad 2017 exercise.

Former border crossings

Ogrodniki-Lazdijai - view from Lithuania

In the period 1991–2007, there were three road and one rail border crossing between Poland and Lithuania. On 1 May 2004, when both Poland and Lithuania joined the

, this border became an internal border of the European Union. On 21 December 2007, Poland and Lithuania acceded to the

Schengen Agreement The Schengen Agreement ( , ) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the t ...

. After this, crossing the border became easier, as EU internal borders are open to all traffic with little need for control. There are still, however, occasional customs and police controls against smuggling of restricted goods; these affect only about 1% of travelers. Road * Budzisko– Kalvarija * Ogrodniki–

Lazdijai Lazdijai () is a city ('' miestas'') in Lithuania located about east of the border with Poland. History It was established by Sigismund II Augustus in 1570 and granted Magdeburg Rights by Sigismund III Vasa in 1587. During World War II, Lazdija ...

* Berżniki–

Kapčiamiestis Kapčiamiestis is a town in Lithuania located near the confluence of Baltoji Ančia and Nieda Rivers. History Kapčiamiestis traces its history dating back in the early 16th century, then a manor was built. In 1777, a parish-school was opened ...

Rail * Trakiszki–

Šeštokai Šeštokai is a small town in southern Lithuania. Infrastructure The town is a transport hub as it hosts Šeštokai Intermodal freight transport, Intermodal Terminal and has dual gauge track as well as break-of-gauge for the Standard gauge, 143 ...

Gallery

File:Polska1020-c.png, Map of Poland from the early 11th century shows Polish and Lithuanian lands separated by Old Prussian and

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...

territories File:Mon Henrykow Slaskich (1201-1241).png, Map of Poland in the first half of the 13th century, shows a border between

Duchy of Masovia The Duchy of Masovia was a District duchy, district principality and a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Poland (1025–1385), Kingdom of Poland, existing during the Middle Ages. The state was centered in Mazovia in the northeastern Kingdom of Poland, a ...

and Lithuania File:Polska WladLokietka (1275-1300).png, Map of Poland and Lithuania around 1275–1300, with visible Polish–Lithuanian border File:Polska 1333 - 1370.png, Map of Poland and Lithuania around 1333–1370, with visible Polish–Lithuanian border File:Polska 1370 - 1382.png, Map of Poland and Lithuania around 1370–1382, with visible Polish–Lithuanian border File:Map of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (pink) and the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (red) in 1386 - 1434.png, Map of Poland and Lithuania around 1386–1434, with visible Polish–Lithuanian border File:IRP 1466.PNG, Map of Poland and Lithuania around 1466, with visible Polish–Lithuanian border File:Poland and Lithuania in 1526.PNG, Map of Poland and Lithuania around 1526, with visible Polish–Lithuanian border File:Irp1569.jpg, Map of Polish-Lithuania Commonwealth after its formation in 1569, with visible Polish–Lithuanian border. Ukrainian territories were transferred under the administrative control of the

Crown of Poland The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (; ) was a political and legal concept formed in the 14th century in the Kingdom of Poland, assuming unity, indivisibility and continuity of the state. Under this idea, the state was no longer seen as the pa ...

. File:Lithuania-1867-1914-EN.svg, Map of Lithuania around 1867–1914, with visible Polish–Russian border (Lithuania did not exist at that time) File:Border-Lithuania-Poland-1919-1939.svg, Selected lines of demarcation between Lithuania and Poland, 1919–1939. Light orange line denotes the line drawn by the Suwałki Agreement.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lithuania-Poland border 1990 establishments in Lithuania 1990 establishments in Poland 1990 in international relations European Union internal borders Borders of Lithuania Borders of Poland International borders